


Rules For Reading Minds

by delighted



Series: Mind Reading [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Follow up, M/M, Missing Scene, s7e17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 19:05:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10577616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: Some missing scenes during episode 17, set in the “Mind Reading” timeline/universe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Part three it is, and I’m calling it a series. We’re skipping S7E16 for obvious reasons (aka Lynn and Melissa), but other than that, we’re following from episodes 14 and 15... on to 17, here we go.
> 
> This one kind of carried me away... and kicked my ass. Both of which were probably good for me. I tried to weave it in with the episode as closely as I could—I hope it still reads as a story in its own right, but it might be a little clunky if you don’t have the episode in your head. I’m not sure if I want to take on episode 18 in this way or not: It would be delightfully fun, but I’m curious to know how much you like reading this one. Writing it was a good and enjoyable exercise, but a lot more effort than one of my usual stories, and I'm not totally sure how well I think it works.... Anyhow, let me know what you think!

They’d been setting some rules. Things like no hand holding in the car on the way to cases. No kissing in the office (the stairwell and the parking lot were exempt). Just some basic guidelines to keep things slightly sane. Not that it was helping.

“If you really could read my mind, you would know I am thinking that ‘no pulling over on the way to a crime scene to make out’ is a dumb rule and you can’t possibly expect me to follow it.”

“Steven, so help me, if you don’t watch the road, I will make a ‘no looking at me while driving’ rule.”

“Danny, I always look at you while I’m driving.”

“I know, and don’t think it doesn’t annoy the heck out of me.”

“Even now?”

“ _Especially_ now.”

“That’s it—” And he pulled off the road onto the non-existent shoulder and over to the side, skidding the whole way.

“Steven, what the fuck?”

Turning off the engine, he reached over and grabbed Danny by the scruff of the neck and pulled him into a bruising kiss. “Too. Many. Rules.”

“They are for your own good.”

“Can you read my mind now?” It was practically a growl and it filled every cell of Danny’s body.

“Yes, and we’re late as it is, but I will see your bet, and raise you. Tonight. At your place. If you make me cookies.”

“Done.”

“Fine.”

And so they went, all the way to the North Shore. Stopping at least twice more for kissing. Danny’d never realized there were so many pull outs on highway 99. Probably because there aren’t.

“You are getting the car washed this afternoon, babe,” he grumbled as they got out of the car and he saw the complete mess Steve’s little side stops had made all over his gorgeous black Camaro.

Steve responded by smacking Danny on the ass, which earned him a death glare and a comment about public decency.

“Anyone decent would agree with me, Daniel.”

“Can you please just try, just try, okay? To behave right now? We are here to support Flippa and Kamekona and the peaceful resolution of the strike, please remember. Can you be civilized for one hour?”

Steve smirked. “I will try.”

“Thank you.”

 

“Look at this picture.” Steve shoved his phone in Danny’s face. “I’m setting it as my wallpaper.”

“Babe, seriously?” He was a little embarrassed by his behavior in front of one of his childhood idols, but he was being distracted back to being embarrassed by Steve. Which was infinitely more comfortable and familiar.

“You have no idea how turned on I am by you right now.” Steve whispered it, but it felt far too loud to Danny’s ears.

He hissed his reply, hoping it would mellow Steve the heck out. “You are such a dork.”

“Me?” Yeah, no, it didn’t help at all. Steve was getting louder. “You’re the one who can’t even speak an actual sentence in front of him.... And I can’t believe you never told me about sneaking into the concert.”

Granted, it wasn’t exactly an incriminating conversation, but still. “Could you please shush? Be an adult for five minutes.”

“I _am_ an adult. I am the one who sounded like the reasonable human being back there.” Steve gave Danny that damn once over again. That really needed to stop. “It is so hard to not kiss you right now.” At least that was under his breath enough Danny was fairly sure no one else would have heard.

“Just stop, okay? Just, stop.”

“I’m stopping, I’m stopping. But it’s true.”

Danny rolled his eyes. This was his life now. Heaven help him.

 

Steve hadn’t said a word in the ten minutes he’d been driving back towards Honolulu since he’d gotten the call from Chin about Dr. Gray. Danny didn’t push it at first because he was mainly trying to not be terrified for his life, the way Steve was driving. Gradually, though, Steve slowed. And that allowed Danny the headspace to be able to speak.

“How you doing, babe?”

The breath Steve let out was tense. “Not gonna read my mind?”

“No, not on this. I want you to tell me. I want you to use words and tell me. Please.”

He was pretty sure he could hear Steve swallow. “Danny, I don’t know. She’s up to something, obviously. I just don’t know what. And I have no idea what to do about that. And I hate feeling that way.”

Part of him worried at how not-his-usual-self Steve seemed, part of him was relieved he was at least being honest to Danny about how he felt. He thought possibly it wouldn’t have been the case before, and he was glad he didn’t have to fight against Steve’s sometimes stubborn streak when it came to admitting he wasn’t completely in control. “Okay, babe. You will figure it out. You’ve got her locked up right now... so, focus on that, and remember I’m here this time, so no stupid acts of stupidity, please.”

Steve looked at Danny, his expression an awkward mix of anger, fear, and longing. “I would pull over right now, but....”

“Shhhh. Just drive, babe. It’s okay.” And, breaking his number one rule, Danny reached over and grabbed Steve’s hand and held on to it tightly.

“Thanks, Danny,” Steve said, and squeezed back.

They rode the rest of the way back to the city in silence.

 

Leaving Steve at HPD with Chin, Danny drove back to HQ. What he really wanted was more information. Steve had been unsurprisingly not as forthcoming as Danny would have liked, back when it had happened, and Danny hadn’t had the emotional collateral to push it then, so he’d eventually let it drop. But now, now he was wanting a whole lot more information. He felt powerless to help, and he couldn’t tolerate that. He needed insight, he needed information. He needed _something_.

Evidently someone was listening, because he ran into Lou in the parking lot, and Danny took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about what had happened four months ago. Lou didn’t remember all the details, but what he did, he was more than happy to share with Danny. After, they moved on to one of their favorite shared topics: sandwiches (neatly sidestepping discussion of the relationship between their children). They were still hanging out in the parking lot when Chin and Steve showed up. _That hadn’t taken long_ , Danny found himself thinking... and it worried him.

They all walked up to the office together, hoping Kono had news for them on the blood test, and talking theories about what the hell Dr. Gray was playing at. Danny had been developing an idea he was pretty sure had validity. He only hoped Steve would be open to hearing it, without thinking he was being overly emotional.

Steve gave him the perfect opening, and he took a shallow breath and jumped in. “I think she wants something from _you_ , specifically.” Danny swallowed. “I think she misses you.”

“Yeah, that’s funny,” Steve was looking at Danny like he almost couldn’t decide if he thought Danny was jealous.

“I’m not joking,” Danny sighed, and tried very hard not to feel sick to his stomach. “Think about it. This woman likes to play games, right? She, uh, she likes a challenge. She needs an adversary, she’s still down one from the last time you beat her—by surviving. So maybe she wants a rematch.” Danny was fairly certain he must look at least a little like he was about to throw up, mainly because he _felt_ like he was about to throw up. _If they made it through this case..._ not that he was one for making “promises” to whatever powers might be, but he was pretty sure he was going to be done not being open about how he felt about Steve. _Just. Please. Be safe_.

He was pretty sure Steve heard all of that.

When Kono pulled up the image of Alicia, Danny’s heart sank all the way to his feet. He really thought he’d throw up now. He knew what Steve in protective mode could be like. And he knew, he knew without even looking, that Steve was not taking Danny on this one.

“Lou, with me.” He turned and leveled a glance at Danny, clearly wanting to explain. But he didn’t need to. Danny knew. He wasn’t taking him because they both knew right now they were too concerned with each other’s safety for their own good—or rather, the good of the case.

 

Danny was sitting in his office, waiting for more news, when Steve came back from having taken Alicia to HPD. Without knocking, he walked in, came around the desk, and sat on it—his leg pressing up against Danny’s. It was subtle enough no one could tell without being in the room with them, but the fact that Steve needed the contact worried Danny.

“Well?” He asked, when Steve didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to Alicia’s tonight. We’ll talk. I don’t know, maybe we can figure something out.”

He knew Steve was watching him, but Danny wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“I need to be there tonight, Danny,” Steve said, and something in his tone got Danny to make eye contact. “If I wasn’t, and something happened....”

Danny nodded. Of course. He’d figured Steve would feel that way. Still, there was one thing bugging him. He let out a long slow breath. “Should I be...” he couldn’t even finish the thought, but Steve got there anyway.

“Don’t be silly. We have this... horrible experience in common.... It’s a bond, but nothing like that. At all.”

Danny closed his eyes. “Yeah, I know.” He ran his hands over his hair. “I know. But thanks for the reassurance.”

“I’d kiss you, but you’re the one with the ‘no kissing in the office’ rule....” Steve forced a grin, but Danny saw it for what it was.

“I know. And thank you. Just... watch your back, please, okay?”

“I always do.” His smile was more natural, even a little playful.

“No, you don’t. _I do_. Which is why I’m worried.”

Steve pressed his leg more firmly against Danny’s. “Hey. You worry too much.”

“Um. Hi. Have you met you? Of course I worry too much. I have every reason to.”

 

Steve left early. He planned on fixing dinner for Alicia, and he needed to get groceries. Swallowing his jealousy, Danny stayed at the office late. He told himself he had paperwork to catch up on, and he did, but that wasn’t why he stayed. Eventually, he was too tired to keep stalling, and he headed home. He settled on the sofa with a glass of wine, and stared blankly at the television, which was on, but he couldn’t have said what he was watching. His thoughts were entirely on Steve. He hadn’t eaten dinner. Maybe it was childish, but he hadn’t been up for cooking. Not for himself alone. That was always a hard thing for him about beginning a relationship—you got used to cooking for two, or being cooked for... and then when you were on your own suddenly for a night, it was cereal, or PB and J, or sometimes just wine. He sighed deeply and it felt good, felt like it released something, so he did it again. He felt better after that, and he settled back into the sofa cushions and kind of curled inward, allowing himself to slowly be lulled towards sleep by the white noise of the TV. He must have drifted off, because his phone woke him sometime later.

_Please tell me you ate something and didn’t just fall asleep on the sofa with a glass of wine_.

Danny rolled his eyes, laughed slightly, then wrote back: _Maybe_.

Almost instantly, his phone rang.

“Hey, babe,” he said sleepily.

“You fell asleep on the sofa with the TV on, didn’t you.”

“Naw, babe, I was just resting.” Which technically was true.

“Uh-huh.” Steve clearly didn’t believe him for one second.

Drawing attention away from his patheticness, Danny asked: “How’s she doing?”

“She’s tough, that’s for sure. She’s used to being alone,” there was a softness to his voice that wasn’t only because he was trying to be quiet. “She, ah, she says she prefers it that way.”

“Yeah, I think we all have our moments of that.”

He heard Steve take a breath. “I used to prefer it too....”

“Yeah?” Danny felt this was going somewhere specific, but didn’t want to lead it.

“I’m not so sure I do anymore....” His voice had a hint of awe to it that stirred something deep in Danny’s gut.

He bit his lip. “What are you saying?”

“I’m not really sure.”

Danny smiled. He was pretty sure he knew what Steve meant. Would be nice to hear it, at some point, but for now he’d take him thinking it. “Get some sleep, babe. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay, Danny. ‘Night.”

Danny thought about getting up and going to bed, but somehow the sofa offered greater comfort than a half empty bed, so he pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa, tucked his feet under a cushion, and fell into a halfway decent sleep.

 

Steve hadn’t called Danny at four in the morning to tell him Alicia had gone missing, and there would be a conversation about that, don’t imagine there wouldn’t be. But for now, they were focusing on the case. Once they worked out where Wisconsin came into it, things started to make sense. Danny knew where Steve’s mind was headed, and got there at the same time.

“Yes, but if Sears knew who did it, Danny—” His tone was excited. He had the answers he’d been missing, and Danny knew he finally felt on his game.

He finished the sentence easily: “Gray probably knows who did it also, which means they’re not going to see Sears.”

“Chin, you and me,” Steve said, without making eye contact with Danny.

Kono was on the phone in an instant to make travel arrangements.

Steve went to his office to grab the bag they all kept, the one “just in case.” Danny followed him, and stood in the doorway watching, trying not to show how he felt. Steve looked up, and saw something in his face that stilled him.

“Danny.” He was clearly trying to decide if he could actually hug him or if that would be a bad idea because it would probably lead to kissing.

“I know, I know.” Danny was shaking his head. He wanted, so much, to be going. To be able to hold Steve’s hand during the flight, to be by his side during that agonizing waiting time. And to be the one watching his back once they got there. But he knew it would be a complete mistake. “Honestly, babe, right now, I trust Chin more, to be able to complete this case. I don’t trust me.... I, uh, I do not trust me, right now, to be able to do anything other than protect you.” He swallowed, wishing it would clear the quavering tone, but of course it didn’t. “I want so much to protect you.” He looked, blearily, though his stinging eyes, at Steve. “I would not be the right person to be at your side right now.” The tears clung to his eyes, refusing to fall, which pissed him off, to be honest. “Chin, I trust. To get the job done. But, fuck, Steven, if you do not come back to me in once piece, I swear to everything that I hold dear, I will never forgive you or Chin.”

“I know,” was all Steve would say.

 

Sometime after Steve and Chin had left for the airport, Kono came into Danny’s office and tried to convince him to go home. The guys wouldn’t land until close to midnight Hawaii time, and as she pointed out: “There’s really nothing more you can do here, and you look like crap.”

He took a breath to refuse, but she narrowed her eyes at him, and he changed his mind. “Okay, you’re right. Thanks, Kono.”

“They’ll be fine, Danny.” She put a hand on his arm, gave a soft squeeze.

He nodded. Not fifteen minutes later he was headed home.

When worried, Danny tended to do one of two things. Pace and mutter anxiously, or focus obsessively on something completely inane. So it was that he barely looked up from cleaning things he hadn’t even known needed to be cleaned until close to ten that night. At which point he suddenly realized he was hungry. “I should eat something.” Startled by how loud his voice sounded, he looked around at his empty house. Had it always been this echo-y? He thought not.

Managing not to sigh dramatically, he wandered in to the kitchen and opened the fridge, and stood, staring into it. Chinese takeout leftovers. Perfect. Depressing alone food. Yay. He grabbed the eggrolls and the _moo shu_ pork, dumping the plum sauce directly into the container, not bothering with reheating, and tossing the dried out shards of Chinese pancake onto a plate. He tore off three sections of paper towel and grabbed a half-empty bottle of wine, forcing himself to reach also for a glass, as tempting as it was to forgo that nicety. Somehow it would have suited his mood to drink directly from the bottle. He managed to get it all out to the coffee table without spilling anything. Dropping exhaustedly onto the sofa he flipped on some overly explosive action movie. That also suited his mood. Besides. _Explosions_ , he laughed to himself. It was as close to having Steve with him as he was going to get. That did make him sigh dramatically, but he washed it down with a gulp of wine and felt a little better.

Danny ate all the food, and decided that crunchy dried out Chinese pancake with _moo shu_ dip was actually a viable food item (he did open a second bottle of wine, so that might have played some part in his decision making process). Whatever channel he had landed on was evidently the all-explosions-all-the-time channel, because as soon as the movie ended (in a giant explosion from which the hunky hero walked away completely unscathed), another began. He was starting to doze off when his phone buzzed with a text.

_Just landed. Try to get some sleep, Danny_.

He held the phone for a moment, feeling grateful for the communication, but finding his body was flooding with the concern he’d blocked out with wine, food, and mindless distraction.

_Be safe_.

He tossed his phone on the coffee table, ran his hands through his hair, and thought about a shower and bed—knowing he wasn’t likely to sleep, but figured he may as well at least pretend. It turned out that he was exhausted enough that he did sleep some, though in fits and starts. But he had fallen asleep enough to feel jolted when his phone rang.

4 am.

“Chin,” he said, trying not to be nervous hearing from him and not Steve.

“Steve’s fine,” were the first words out of Chin’s mouth, bless him. “We got the guy, and Sienna’s okay, so is Alicia.”

He didn’t need to say _but_. Danny heard it, and knew. “Gray got away.” It wasn’t a question.

“Afraid so,” Chin sighed.

“Okay. Thanks, Chin.” He’d been afraid that was the most likely outcome. And he knew it would haunt Steve. Deciding he wasn’t likely to go back to sleep, he got up and made coffee, cleaned his dishes from the night before, and decided he may as well go into the office, because pretty soon paperwork would start flooding in from Wisconsin, and it would give him something to _do_ at least.

He’d been right. The amount of paperwork was bordering on ridiculous. He really needed to have a talk with Steve about not handing potentially lethal items to certifiably psychotic serial killers. The whole immunity and means thing was nice and all, but Wisconsin seemed to have been founded on a mountain of red tape that needed to be dealt with regardless. Before he knew it, it was 4 pm and he was getting a text from Steve:

_I miss you so much it actually hurts. How is that possible?_

Danny swallowed. Yeah, that was actually fairly accurate. _I know, babe. Me too._

_See you in the morning._

Danny worked out in his head what time Steve was likely to get back, and found himself wishing he’d come right to his place. It would probably be 2 in the morning before he’d get there, but he’d take it. Focusing on that thought kept him comforted as he finished his work, and he even managed to make some real food when he got home, and eventually fell asleep, only to slide towards wakefulness right around the time he’d thought Steve would likely be back. He heard the key in the lock, and smiling to himself, he waited... he heard Steve’s clunky boots hit the floor, heard the slither of a winter coat, things being emptied from pockets, and didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath, till Steve was next to him, wearing far too many clothes, thank you. He felt a strong arm come around him and pull him close.

“I couldn’t wait,” breathed Steve in his ear. “I just couldn’t wait....” and he kissed Danny’s neck lightly.

“I know,” Danny managed, turning into Steve’s kisses. They soon settled down and fell soundly asleep, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms.

 

They slept in, not late—just slightly past absurdly early. But it was something they’d not done much of yet in the newness of the whole sleeping together thing, and Danny wished he could enjoy it. But he was too aware of Steve’s restlessness. It was Sunday, so no need to hurry, not that Danny would have let Steve go to the office anyway. Deciding that getting him back to his usual routine was probably the most helpful option, Danny suggested they go hang out at Steve’s, and relax in the comfort (and privacy) of his home. They spent a mellow day, swimming, eating, napping, and watching golf on TV because somehow it fit their mood. Steve wasn’t interested in talking about Gray, and Danny was not up for pushing it. So they stayed close and gave each other mostly wordless comfort, not even trying to figure out what the other was thinking, but leaving that alone for now.

Monday was a normal day, as much as they had those. A minor case that Kono and Lou handled in short order while the rest of the team continued to deal with paperwork. And Steve continued to suppress his emotional issues. And Danny continued to be patient. Hoping that once Steve had seen that Alicia and Sienna were okay he would start to feel a little better. But Danny knew Steve well enough to know that part of him would be on edge, uneasy, unsettled, until Dr. Gray was safely behind bars. Although, if they’d learned anything from this case it was that “behind bars” would be false security at best. Still, Steve was sticking close to Danny, and whatever his reason for it, Danny was glad he hadn’t gone the direction of shutting himself off, which had always been a possibility in the back of Danny’s head. You know, the one that worries too much. Especially about tall, protective, and controlling Navy SEALs.

Tuesday afternoon, towards the end of the day, Steve heard from Alicia that they were home safely. He was sitting in Danny’s office at the time, and they’d been talking about plans for the evening. Steve sitting on Danny’s desk had become their favorite way to sneak physical touch during office hours, and no one seemed to think much of it—yet. Although Danny had moments of believing it was wishful thinking that the whole team didn’t know. Still. He wasn’t ready for it to be anything other than theirs quite yet. And for now at least, Steve seemed to agree.

Steve hung up with Alicia and looked at Danny anxiously.

“Go, babe.” Danny tried to smile. “You won’t be easy till you see her. I should go home and do some stuff anyway. We can hang out tomorrow night.”

Steve gave Danny a look that clearly indicated he didn’t believe him, but was grateful anyway. “Can I come over after?” He asked, as though he were unsure of his reception.

“Of course, babe. Always.” Danny patted him briefly on the knee, and Steve pressed his leg against Danny’s in response. Small comforts. But it was something.

“I want to kiss you,” Steve whispered.

Danny pressed his lips together. He was more nervous about Steve going to Alicia’s than he was going to let on. Something was bugging him, but he couldn’t figure out what. Steve wanting to leave him with a kiss didn’t exactly calm his thoughts.

“I’ll stay long enough to make sure they’re okay, then I’ll come over.”

Danny nodded, but found he couldn’t speak. Steve got up, bumping his leg against Danny’s as he stood, then walked slowly back to his office.

Danny headed home before Steve left. But he couldn’t seem to get himself to do anything. He sat on the sofa, drinking coffee because somehow wine seemed a bad idea, and staring off into space, having not turned the TV on because that seemed wrong as well. So he heard when there was a soft knock on the door. Not the doorbell, but a knock. He knew already what that meant, had been able to interpret that one before the mind reading.

He opened the door, and when Steve seemed unable to move, he pulled him into a hug. Maneuvering him around so that he could close and lock the door (don’t think he hadn’t stepped up his own security measures), Danny allowed him to be still. It took awhile for Steve to want to move, but either exhaustion or maybe desire or maybe something else won out, and Danny felt the momentum in Steve’s body leaning towards the sofa, so he broke off and led him there.

“Hey,” he whispered, and put a hand to his partner’s worn and worried face. “You okay?”

“No, Danny, I’m not. It doesn’t feel right. Something is up, I’m missing something....” He faded off but then tried to shake himself out of it. He was too tired or too emotionally spent to succeed.

“You eaten?” Danny asked, moving into care-taker mode. That was a comfort zone from long before the mind reading.

Steve shook his head.

“Good, me neither,” Danny replied, trying to rally himself if not Steve. “I’ll go get some wine and we can decide what to order.” When it looked like Steve would try to follow him, he put a hand on his knee to stay him. “I will be right back, okay? Two minutes. Take your shoes off, and try to relax.”

Steve nodded.

The open bottle of wine was almost empty, so he grabbed a new one, and the opener, and two glasses, and headed back out to the living room. Steve was watching for him. Cursing silently, Danny tried to look reassuring. He only wished he felt it.

“Here you go, babe,” Danny said when he’d gotten the wine open and poured a glass for Steve. He drank gratefully.

Settling himself back against the sofa once he’d filled his own glass, Danny reached out for Steve and pulled him against his chest. “Rest now, we can talk about it later,” he soothed, rubbing his hand along Steve’s shoulder, and up to his head. That bristly hair was too short, he wanted more to grab onto, but he enjoyed the way it felt beneath his fingers. Somewhere deep inside him, Steve vibrated in response. _Like a cat_ , Danny thought to himself, smiling.

“Thanks, Danny,” Steve mumbled onto Danny’s chest, and snuggled up against him, pulling his feet up on the sofa, reaching out to put his wineglass on the table. With Steve’s weight resting against him, Danny felt calmer than he had since this whole thing had started.

So of course that was when Steve’s phone rang.

Danny was pretty sure they both had exactly the same thought at exactly the same time.

Holding eye contact with Danny, Steve answered. Danny didn’t need to hear the voice on the other end to know what had happened. He could read it all in Steve’s eyes.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” Still holding his phone, Steve seemed almost paralyzed, though the news couldn’t have been a shock. It was more _they should have known_. “Oh, god, Danny, I should have stayed.”

But it was inevitable. Danny realized he had seen that, and knew Steve had too. There was only one way this could have ended. If they were honest, they had all known it, though they hadn’t wanted to admit it.

“Steve, babe, you couldn’t stay forever, and she wouldn’t have shown up till you were gone....”

“I should have tried harder.” Steve managed to stand, though he was shaky on his feet.

Danny was glad he’d not had any wine yet, glad his instinct had in some way prepared him. “I’m coming with you.”

“Danny....” Steve clearly wanted to object.

Danny shook his head. “I’m sorry, babe, I’m overruling you on this one. New rule. I drive you to things like this. I’ll wait in the car. You take as much time as you need to,” he sighed, put a hand on Steve’s arm. “Babe, they’re not going to let you do anything, you know? She knew what she was doing, she chose this... and you have to let that go.”

“I know.... Danny, I know. I just... I just have to be there.”

“Come on, babe.”

They drove in silence, Danny resting his hand on Steve’s leg this time, while Steve stared out the window. About half way there, his hand settled on top of Danny’s, and Danny felt his own pulse slow. About a block away, Steve asked Danny to pull over.

“I know it’s against your rules, but I really need a kiss before I go in there.”

Danny felt his eyes burn, nodded, and allowed Steve to take what he needed. Then he drove to the next block, found a spot, and rolled down the windows. “I’ll be here when you’re done, babe.”

Steve got out without a word, and walked, clearly still in shock, up to the house.

By the time Steve finished, it was late. He climbed into the Camaro and sat there silently. Danny waited, knew Steve was deciding what move to make next. After awhile, he stirred and spoke. “Danny, think maybe I should just be alone tonight.”

Without any hesitation at all, directly from his gut, Danny replied. “No.”

“Danny....” His tone was weary. A bit plaintive. But not convincing.

“No, Steven. Another new rule. You can be alone all week if you like, but not tonight. Not after this. I’ll sleep downstairs if you like, or in Mary’s room, but I am not letting you go home alone tonight.”

Steve didn’t say anything in response, but Danny was pretty sure that despite having said it, Steve didn’t actually want to be alone.

A few long minutes passed, but eventually Steve nodded. “Alright, Danno. Let’s go home.”

Danny knew they both had a lot of processing to do, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy. But for now, whatever Steve needed, he was grateful he was there to give it. They held hands all the way to Steve’s house. They ordered pizza which they ate in front of the TV. Then they fell into bed and into a restless and dream-filled sleep. But they were there to comfort each other, and that, Danny knew, made all the difference in the world.


End file.
